


Recuperation

by KestrelShrike



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Loyalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 15:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11421177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KestrelShrike/pseuds/KestrelShrike
Summary: A brief snapshot of life for Kaetus and Sloane Kelly, taking place shortly after High Noon. Confined to a bed, there's little Kaetus can do but complain. It's lucky that Sloane seems to like that.





	Recuperation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).



Few places on Kadara were set up for proper, advanced medical care but what Sloane Kelly wanted, Sloane Kelly got. In the safety of her own suite of rooms, one had been set aside, frantically disinfected, and now filled with nothing more than the soft hum of medical equipment and an anxious human doctor who left the minute she walked through the doorway, bobbing his head and almost dropping the patient’s medical chart in his haste to get the hell out of there. It was almost enough to make her smile- almost. 

“Sloane.” Kaetus’ voice was hoarse but he was definitively alive, eyes vibrant and tracking every step she took towards his bed until she stopped just a short distance away, not yet close enough to touch. 

Nodding her head to him, she said, “You look like shit,” tone curt and simple. And he did- his colors were still wrong, and the bandage that swathed a significant portion of his chest couldn’t be missed. He was lucky to be alive, and as he struggled to sit up straighter, maybe even lift himself out of bed, she bridged that final gap between them and pushed him back down firmly, pulling a chair up to the bed. His hand dangled over the railing and she brushed it just briefly before getting down to business. “The Charlatan is gone.” 

There was so much Kaetus wanted to discuss, but this he hadn’t expected. “What? How?” It was to his credit that even though he was obviously still in pain, he managed to focus. She could see him making mental notes even as she tried to summarize the events of the past few hours as best she could. 

“It was Reyes Vidal. He called for a final showdown for Kadara Port- cocky bastard. Put himself in the spotlight. I guess he wasn’t too cocky though- he had a sniper trained on me the entire time.” Though her words were said casually, Sloane had felt her own mortality then, and it hung over her head now to be shrugged off and considered for another day. 

“You alright, Sloane?” Kaetus gave her the once-over and then nodded, apparently satisfied. 

“The little Pathfinder girl shouted out a warning. Reyes missed- unfortunately, so did the Pathfinder. He evaced, but we’ll find him Kaetus, and I will make him pay for what he did to you.” A simple statement of truth. If the Charlatan was anywhere still on the planet, she would find him. If he was anywhere still in the star system, she would find him. With a new relationship with the human Pathfinder, the entirety of the galaxy was no longer off limits. 

“You should have brought me. I wouldn’t have missed,” Kaetus grumbled, reaching for a cup of water and taking a harsh swallow. “I can go back to work right away.” He was still receiving fluids and painkillers through an IV drip, but he reached to pull it out himself. He had been confined to this bed for long enough- no more time left for rest. 

Again Sloane stopped him, batting his hand away, annoyance creasing her features. “Touching, but your loyalty serves me best when you’re in one piece, Kaetus.” Turians were so utterly shit at recuperating. 

With another noise of protestation, Kaetus leaned back, his eyes already going half-lidded from the sheer effort of keeping awake. Between the cocktail of drugs in his system and his body still fighting to heal, there wasn’t much fight in him, but he would have fallen out of bed one way or another for her. “So now we owe this human Pathfinder.” His tone made it clear that this wasn’t a good thing. 

“I’ve given them settlement rights. If they can make those god-forsaken sulfur springs worthwhile, all the more power to them. One settlement- that’s it.” It had been concession enough; Sloane was hardly willing to trust the Initiative again so soon. 

“You getting soft on me, Sloane?” It was more than Kaetus would have provided. Shit. “You need me. Next you’ll be going back to the Nexus to make nice.” 

For the first time that day, a genuine smile crossed Sloane’s features, deepening the scars on her face. “Cute, Kaetus, but you’re the one who needs a nap.” It was true; as much as he was trying to fight sleep, it was creeping up on him one way or another. 

Before he succumbed completely, Sloane lifted his hand, putting it between two of her own, fingers interlacing with his briefly before she dropped it, shooting him a look that suggested, ‘tell no one.’ 

“Get back in shape. I guess I do need you by my side.” That was an order.


End file.
